Film

The Other Guys

Adam McKay's buddy-cop comedy takes the genre's swagger and hands it to two men who have absolutely none of it. Ferrell's meek paperwork guy and Wahlberg's demoted, permanently furious partner are the department's punchline until a boring fraud case turns real. It's loud, dumb-smart, and stuffed with escalating non-sequiturs, but there's a genuinely sharp gag underneath about Wall Street getting away with everything.

TMDb rating6.3

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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy2004

The purest version of the Ferrell/McKay anarchic rhythm — anything can happen at any moment, and more quotable lines per minute than should legally be allowed.

But It's basically a string of sketches wearing a plot as a costume; the looseness that's charming here can also feel formless.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy poster

Step Brothers2008

Ferrell and John C. Reilly at their most gloriously overgrown-child, McKay again, the chemistry-of-idiots formula turned up as far as it goes.

But Almost no plot momentum, pure vibes-based comedy — some will find the man-children premise grating rather than funny.

Step Brothers poster

21 Jump Street2012

Same core joke of cops who are terrible at their jobs, played with real self-awareness about the genre, and Hill and Tatum have terrific chemistry.

But Leans harder into raunchy teen-movie tropes and has less of the political bite that gives Other Guys its edge.

21 Jump Street poster

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The Big Short2015

Same director, same subject — Adam McKay revisits the exact fraud plot buried in Other Guys's third act and plays it completely straight instead of for laughs.

The film that answers the question Other Guys leaves as a punchline — McKay directed both, and here he turns the same financial-fraud engine into a genuinely angry, gripping explainer for how 2008 actually happened.

But There are no jokes about cocaine bears or horse-face threats here — it's a serious, occasionally despairing film about real financial devastation.

The Big Short poster
More like this (8)

Hot Fuzz2007

A British cop-movie parody made with insane structural discipline — Edgar Wright's precision is the tidier cousin to McKay's chaos.

But Very British in rhythm and reference, and the slow-village setup takes a while before the action ramps up.

Hot Fuzz poster

Tropic Thunder2008

Wahlberg again playing a furious meathead inside a genre spoof, with the same total commitment to the bit — and Downey Jr. is unforgettable.

But It's Hollywood-satire, not cop comedy — a different target, even if the engine of absurd escalation feels familiar.

Tropic Thunder poster

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby2006

Another McKay/Ferrell genre parody with the same dumb-guy-hero arc and huge, silly laughs, plus Reilly back as the sidekick.

But Structurally very close to Anchorman, so if you watch all three McKay comedies back to back, diminishing returns set in.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby poster

The Heat2013

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy do the mismatched-partners insult-comedy dance with real venom and genuine affection underneath.

But More grounded and less absurdist in its swings than Other Guys — fewer wild tonal detours.

The Heat poster

Lethal Weapon1987

The real deal — the straight-faced buddy-cop actioner that Other Guys is affectionately roasting, and it still holds up as a genre landmark.

But There's no comic intent whatsoever; if you're after laughs, this won't give you any — it's a straight appreciation watch.

Lethal Weapon poster

Ted2012no page yet

Wahlberg playing composed straight man to something ridiculous — a foul-mouthed teddy bear instead of Will Ferrell — with the same reactive comic rhythm.

But Broader stoner-comedy energy and a much more fantastical premise, with less satire underneath.

Freebie and the Bean1974no page yet

This scrappy 70s cop comedy basically invented the buddy-cop chaos that Other Guys spends its entire runtime affectionately parodying.

See where the mismatched-partners-blowing-things-up template actually came from — reckless chases, constant bickering, collateral damage played for laughs, decades before it became a formula.

But Very much a product of its era, tonally rougher around the edges, and some of its humour has aged badly.

Reno 911!2003

Same cops-who-are-terrible-at-their-jobs engine, shrunk into a mockumentary sitcom format — same joke, trashier register, entirely different medium.

The same broken-cop premise stripped of budget, stunts, and polish — improvised, filthy, gleefully unpolished mockumentary chaos built entirely on incompetent characters.

But Much cruder, barely any plot, and the shaky-camera mockumentary style might grate if you wanted studio-comedy gloss.

Reno 911! poster

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